An Ode To The Pantsing

It's that time again. And this time I pay an ode to the most popular, but unlikely, ream to pay tribute to. The Globetrotters pantsing the Washington Generals.

For anyone who doesn't know, here is a quick rundown. Although I tend to wonder if you aren't familiar with this particular brand of Globetrotter mischief, what on earth are you doing here?

The ream starts when the Globetrotters foul a Washington General, usually in some kind of comical manner. After that, the hapless General will go to the foul line to take his shot. A Globetrotter will then "sneak up" on the player, an ironic thing since they are out in the open in a basketball court. So how would they sneak up on anyone?

The Trotter will then... well... pull the Generals pants down. The victim will get embarrassed and flail around before tripping and eventually pulling his pants back up.

After that the players team mates will tell the victim which trotter did it. Shame they apparently saw the whole thing and didn't try to stop it or anything. So much for having your team mates back!

Setting out for revenge the Washington General will go up to the offending Trotter, who is too busy laughing at his own prank to notice the General is coming after him. And the Globetrotter will then have his own pants pulled down.

The trotter will then be caught wearing a very embarrassing pair of underwear (i.e. pink ones, one with hearts, etc.) which is the final punchline of the bit.

Indecently, the Trotters never get a Technical called on them. I mean seriously, the referee's have been in the Generals pocket all season. But they don't even send a Globetrotter to the penalty box for this? I hope Reggie and Sam aren't paying top dollar to buy off the referee's.

Usually it is the showman who pulls the Generals pants down, although they have been known to occasionally have someone else do it. Likewise, it is usually the team captain of the Washington Generals who is on the receiving end of the Trotters prak, (talk about taking one for the team) but reportedly every General has to do this at some point in their tour.

So why would I pay tribute to the Generals being humiliated?

Well, for one thing the ream is somewhat misunderstood. As noted above, the Washington Generals get the last laugh out of this exchange. One of the few times they ever actually do have the last laugh.

The other reason is that aside from it being one of the most well known bits from a Globetrotter game, in a lot of ways it exemplifies what the Generals do best.

And no, I don't mean get their pants pulled down. Anyone can have their pants pulled down. What it does exemplify is their fearlessness to be the butt of a Globetrotter joke in the interest of making the fans laugh.

That, more than anything, is why the Washington Generals will always be such a pivotal part of a Globetrotter game.

It also shows that the Washington Generals listened to their mother. You will never catch them on the court without clean underwear.